The official groundbreaking for the long-planned arts center was scheduled to take place today at 10 a.m. at the building’s site (535 N. 400 West, the north side of Parrish Lane), after Clipper press time. The ceremony, which also included the unveiling of new architectural renderings, was to be led by Centerville Mayor Ronald Russell.
“Arts really are the glue that hold a community together,” said Russell of the project. “We need to have in our community, cultural opportunities that benefit us on a daily basis and give us a chance to participate in the arts.”
Also planning to attend the groundbreaking ceremony were community leaders, including Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson, Davis Performing Arts Association President Glen McKay, and the association’s board of directors.
The groundbreaking ceremony marked the theater complex’s initial phase of construction, which will include all the footings, foundations, and site utilities needed for the project.
The next two phases, which will be bid out later this summer, will include structural steel, masonry walls and exterior work in one phase, and interior work in the other.
The completed cultural arts center, which is expected to have its grand opening in January 2011, will be a 57,000-square-foot theater complex with a 500-seat main stage theater, a black-box theater, classrooms and rehearsal space.
The arts center can be used by arts groups throughout the county, including possibly some school groups.
“Our kids need to see more plays. Our teens need to see more plays,” said Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson. “Everyone is better off if this part of our culture is enhanced and developed.”
Rodgers Memorial Theatre, whose participants have been heavily involved in the Davis Cultural Arts Center project, will remain fully operational and run performances in the current theater until December 2010. It is then expected to move into the cultural arts center.
jwardell@davisclipper.com
Post a Comment
